27 May 2016

Visit to the National Library of Scotland

by | posted in: Observations | 0

Last October I had the pleasure of visiting the National Library of Scotland. I was up in Edinburgh at State of the Map Scotland and couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to have a guided tour of the library’s maps reading room. Our host, Chris Fleet, had laid out a number of fantastic items from their collection – each with it’s own story.

Being a bit of a map geek I took way too many photos during the hour or so we had before closure. Here are some of the best to whet your appetite. The NLS are long term supporters of OpenStreetMap, have scanned and georeferenced many thousands of maps, and host zoomable maps on their amazing website. If you find yourself in Edinburgh, be sure to check out their collection.

Russian military maps (read all about these secret cold war maps).
Russian military maps (link: secret cold war maps).
Textured maps for the blind and partially sighted.
Textured maps for the blind and partially sighted.
The Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654 (view online)
The Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654 (view online)
Precision tools of the map maker.
Precision tools of the map maker.
Map corrections: tracing paper and sticky tape!
Map corrections: tracing paper and sticky tape!
A map of WW1 trench positions in Belgium.
A map of WW1 trench positions in Belgium.
Now you see it, now you don't. Early day 'airbrusing' to remove an airfield from aerial photos.
Now you see it, now you don’t. Early day ‘airbrusing’ to remove an airfield from aerial photos.
9 May 2016

Summer Programme

by | posted in: Mapping Party, Participate | 1

To take advantage of the good weather and light evenings during the summer months we tour around the region mapping areas which look either interesting or not well-mapped.

So far this year we have visited Stratford-upon-Avon where we attempted to map all the tourist accommodation (it is the 400th annivarsary of Shakespeare’s death and this town is a global tourist destination). The ongoing project is to map all the buildings – help appreciated!

Last week saw us in Atherstone where our mapping effort was eclectic to say the least

We have mapped out the remainder of the venues:

June will be Kidderminster on a Saturday ( pub & date tbc)

July will be Tamworth Wed July 6th (Globe Inn, Lower Gungate)

August is the 10th anniversary of mappamercia so we’re going to map as much of WR10 as possible, centred on Pershore (pub & date tbc)

September will be somewhere in Herefordshire (some input from mappers in Herefordshire appreciated – given the distance involved for most attendees this will probably be a Saturday too)